To celebrate the launch of the new LEGO® | Disney Castle and Disney’s 100th anniversary, UK artist Lakwena Maciver has created a giant castle window mural in LEGO brick inspired by the storytelling possibilities of the new LEGO set.
Disney100 commemorates The Walt Disney Company’s 100th anniversary through an offering of unparalleled content, experiences, and collections. This once in a lifetime event celebrates the storytellers, fans and families who together spark the wonder and magic of Disney.
Build activities will be happening in New York (US) and Paris (France) and families in Manchester are also invited to help build the mural in the Arndale Centre on July 14th – 16th 2023.
Vibrant colour and bold text combine in Lakwena Maciver’s joyful and gently subversive work. Her paintings, murals and installations often reference everyday shared experiences and popular culture, such as songs, fashion and basketball. Bringing messages of hopeful possibility, Lakwena speaks to points of connection and commonality between people, with a utopian vision that dreams of redemption and liberation. Her approach is instinctive and autodidactic, producing visceral, rhythmic and immersive panel paintings, iconic murals and installations.
Based in London, her work has been shown internationally in cities including London, Paris, Rotterdam, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Miami, and at institutions including the Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Somerset House, the Southbank Centre in London and the Rotterdam Kunsthal. Her works in the public realm have ranged from one of the largest public artworks in the UK wrapping an electrical substation in London, to a juvenile detention centre in Arkansas, a monastery in Vienna, and the Bowery Wall in New York City.
Talking about the inspiration for her mural titled, Colourays, artist Lakwena referenced the Disney characters that inspired her creativity as a child, and those she sees sparking the imagination of her two sons today: “When I lived in Ethiopia as a child in the 90s, there wasn’t access to many films, so we would watch Disney videos on repeat. Later, when living in the UK, I also remember visiting my uncle in the Ashdown Forest, which inspired Winnie the Pooh, and we would play Pooh Sticks on Pooh Bridge.
“And now, with my young family, films like The Lion King offer a nice way for me to talk to my children about our ancestral homeland. The idea of magical possibilities that Disney captures so well definitely had a big impact on my imagination as a child and has therefore informed my adult work and life as an artist.”
For those not able to visit the building event, there is also an opportunity to create a LEGO castle window online at www.lego.com/castle, or visit a local LEGO Store to take part in LEGO | Disney building activities (visit www.lego.com/store for more details).
The new LEGO | Disney Castle set is available globally via LEGO Stores and at LEGO.com/Castle at the recommended retail price of £344.99.
Event Date/Time: July 14th – 16th 2023
Event Location: Manchester Arndale
Website: www.lego.com/castle
